13.mw.md 3.6 KB
In Chinese, possession is marked with the particle 的 (de), placed after the "owner" noun or noun phrase. This particle works in a similar way to apostrophe-"s" in English, but is used much more broadly in Chinese. This article highlights one of its simplest and most common usages.
Structure
Noun 1 + 的 + Noun 2
This means "Noun 1's Noun 2" (where Noun 2 belongs to Noun 1).
The structure is super simple. It will take a bit of time before you realize how truly universal this pattern is. It doesn't matter whether the "Noun 1" is a person, place, or thing, or even if it's a pronoun (like "he," "she," or "it"). The structure stays consistent.
Examples
- 我 的 老师 wǒ de lǎoshīmy teacher
- 你 的 手机 nǐ de shǒujī your cell phone
- 我们 的 钱 wǒmen de qiánour money
- 他们 的 东西 tāmen de dōngxitheir stuff
- 爸爸 的 车 bàba de chē dad's car
- 你们 的 菜 nǐmen de càiyour food
- 北京 的 空气 Běijīng de kōngqì Beijing's air
- 公司 的 老板gōngsī de lǎobǎnthe company's boss
- 上海 的 天气 Shànghǎi de tiānqì Shanghai's weather
- 老师 的 朋友 lǎoshī de péngyouteacher's friend
See also
- Expressing close possession
- Modifying nouns with adjective + "de"
- Modifying nouns with phrase + "de"